How to extract MSI install files

by

An MSI file is a software installation package format that can include files, commands, instructions, registry settings etc.

Often the MSI is used as a container for several files, such as an EXE installation application.

The following steps detail how to extract the files from an MSI file.

  1. Open an elevated command prompt by pressing the Windows key on the keyboard
  2. Type command and right-click on Command Prompt and select Run as Administrator
  3. Windows8-ExtractMSI
  4. The User Access Control window will open first, click ‘Yes’
  5. Enter the following command – replacing C:\filepath\file.msi and C:\filepath\extractfolder with the details of your file and folder
  6. msiexec /a C:\filepath\file.msi to MSI file /qb TARGETDIR=C:\filepath\extractfolder
  7. Windows8-ExtractMSI1
  8. The contents of the MSI will now be in the specified TARGETDIR folder.